So what changed in a matter of hours? Lidge said he felt stiffness in his right elbow after picking up a save Sunday against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Lidge said the stiffness carried into Monday, when he played catch before the game. So when the time came for the Phillies to pitch somebody in the ninth — they had a one-run lead until Ross Gload‘s pinch-hit three-run homer — they chose Jose Contreras.

“Today it didn’t feel great,” Lidge said. “I’m not worried. It’s some of the things hopefully we won’t have to deal with for very long. Out of surgery, here and there, there might be something like that. I guess it’s pretty normal. That’s what they told me. Hopefully I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

Lidge had surgery on his right elbow in November following the World Series. He received a cortisone injection in the elbow in March and spent most of April rehabbing. He is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and one save in four appearances.

The Phillies just got Lidge back, and cannot afford to lose him again — especially with Ryan Madson missing at least a couple months with a broken toe.

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8 Comments

Can some one tell me why KK was called for a balk? I have seen the video and he steps off the rubber, something that is allowed. Grnated he did it in a strange way, but I didn’t see a balk. ENlighten me people.

FIJ, I only saw the highlight version of the balk, but it looked like Kyle had put his righthand in his glove to hold the ball (which is a set position)and then he took the ball out of his glove before stepping off (behind) the rubber. If he had kept his hands together and stepped back behind the rubber, the ump wouldn’t have called a balk. Of course, I only saw it once in real time. Maybe someone else has a better take on what happened…..

Sometimes I am confused by the balk rule. All I’ll say about it is that, when it happened, the Phillies announcers and the Phillies dugout did not put up any argument about it. It cost them a run so, if it was a shaky call, somebody would have made a stink about it.
I have further confusion about the balk rule because I can’t believe that what the kid Smith from Colorado was doing on his move to first wasn’t a balk.

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